How do I put items that where on my desktop but disappeared back on my desktop.

I bought a MacBook Pro 3 days ago and it is my first Mac. I have been accidently moving my icons in a way where when I let go of them, they disappear. My question is, how can I get those icons back to where they were, and how can I get my Mac HD icon back to the upper right side.

I bought a MacBook Pro 3 days ago and it is my first Mac. I have been accidently moving my icons in a way where when I let go of them, they disappear. My question is, how can I get those icons back to where they were, and how can I get my Mac HD icon back to the upper right side.

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OK, I'm going to assume that you are talking about icons that were previously in your dock at the bottom of the screen based on your description of them disappearing (and they disappear with a "poof"), so straighten me out if that is not what you mean.

If that is the case, then simply locate the application in the "Applications" folder on your hard drive- then click (and hold) on the icon and drag it back down to the dock. The other icons will move aside to open a space if you have dragged it far enough. Let go and the icon will then be back in the dock. Note that this does not change anything about the original file's location- it just creates a clickable dock representation of it (similar to a "shortcut" in Windows or a true "Alias" in the Mac OS).

I'm not sure if you mean just moving the existing HD icon on the desktop or whether you have managed to turn off that icon which can be done is Finder Preferences- but if you just mean how do you move it, the previous poster is correct- just click on it and drag it to wherever you want it on the desktop.

To clarify, I was referring to the icons on my dock, but my HD icon on the right-hand side is not there even though it is checked of in finder, in preferences. Since that is the only way I know how to find applications, I cannot put those icons back into my dock.

There is one pretty easy workaround to getting to the folder, so we can take care of that anyways-- in the Finder's menus you will see one simply titled "Go". That will allow you to jump directly to any folder, with several being pre-defined (including the Applications folder).

Since the Finder prefs for show hard disks is checked, I am going to have to research that one because something posted here recently comes to mind. To check if the invisibility bit has been accidentally set by a Finder glitch, you can tell the System to make sure the icon is visible by entering:

SetFile -a v "/Volumes/Drive Name Goes Here"

then pressing return/enter in the Terminal application found in the Utilities folder (inserting your specific hard drive name in place of the Drive Name Goes Here). The quotes are necessary too BTW.

For future reference if you ever want to make an individual drive's icon invisible on the desktop (like simply hiding a Time Machine drive's icon), you can enter the same command, but with a capital V:

There is one pretty easy workaround to getting to the folder, so we can take care of that anyways-- in the Finder's menus you will see one simply titled "Go". That will allow you to jump directly to any folder, with several being pre-defined (including the Applications folder).

Since the Finder prefs for show hard disks is checked, I am going to have to research that one because something posted here recently comes to mind. To check if the invisibility bit has been accidentally set by a Finder glitch, you can tell the System to make sure the icon is visible by entering:

SetFile -a v "/Volumes/Drive Name Goes Here"

then pressing return/enter in the Terminal application found in the Utilities folder (inserting your specific hard drive name in place of the Drive Name Goes Here). The quotes are necessary too BTW.

For future reference if you ever want to make an individual drive's icon invisible on the desktop (like simply hiding a Time Machine drive's icon), you can enter the same command, but with a capital V:

SetFile -a V "/Volumes/Drive Name Goes Here"

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First let me say thanks for all of your help. I have only been using a Mac for 10 months. About a month after I got my Mac Pro I lost "Stacks" off the dock. As a new user I am sure it was something I did and have no idea what. A couple of days ago I lost Dashboard from the dock and this time it went away right after I installed "Parallels" but with your help I got it back. I searched for stacks and can't find it on the HD. Would I have to reinstall the OS to get it back

First let me say thanks for all of your help. I have only been using a Mac for 10 months. About a month after I got my Mac Pro I lost "Stacks" off the dock. As a new user I am sure it was something I did and have no idea what. A couple of days ago I lost Dashboard from the dock and this time it went away right after I installed "Parallels" but with your help I got it back. I searched for stacks and can't find it on the HD. Would I have to reinstall the OS to get it back

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Well let's see--- it would seem perhaps that you are expecting there to be an item named "Stacks" somewhere (or something along those lines) but there isn't a specific item named that way.

"Stacks" just refers to a way that folders act when they are dragged and dropped onto the right side of the dock (using the method I mentioned in post #3 above). When a folder is dropped onto the right side of the dock (to the right of the dividing line) it will then become a "stack"- meaning it will pop up via a list or window when it is clicked on. So if you drag your Applications folder to the right side of the dock for example, it could then be referred to as the Applications "stack" for simpliciity. The same would go for any folder you dropped on the dock's right side.

Well let's see--- it would seem perhaps that you are expecting there to be an item named "Stacks" somewhere (or something along those lines) but there isn't a specific item named that way.

"Stacks" just refers to a way that folders act when they are dragged and dropped onto the right side of the dock (using the method I mentioned in post #3 above). When a folder is dropped onto the right side of the dock (to the right of the dividing line) it will then become a "stack"- meaning it will pop up via a list or window when it is clicked on. So if you drag your Applications folder to the right side of the dock for example, it could then be referred to as the Applications "stack" for simpliciity. The same would go for any folder you dropped on the dock's right side.

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Thanks for your expertise once again. It all is working the way it once was

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